History of the printing press
This page chronicles the history of the spread and usage of the printing press in Raidenoff. Origins (3rd century DR) The printing press was derived from several inventions that had existed earlier. In Scenfa, it had long been a popular practice to publicize messages by posting them on carved wooden tablets; however, as paper— which had originated in western Kussia— gradually spread to Pertusia via Gentor, it led the Scenfai tablet process to evolve. Starting as early as the first century BT, Scenfai tablets would be dipped in ink and then imprinted onto papers, making it possible to easily make multiple copies of a tablet. During the second century DR in Amitrea, the screw press was increasing in popularity; the potential volatility of the eldkaster necessitated an increased standardization of gunsmithing processes, and so the screw press became a popular tool for creating consistent sizes and shapes of the pieces of metal. The synthesis of the above processes is attributed to Zakhenash Azat-Umid, a Trestofian scribe and a confidant of Grand Monsignor Erasyl VI of St. Furnick. Requested by Erasyl to increase the spread of Furnician literature, Umid decided to approach the process by expediting the copying of texts. The first extant prototype of a printing press is dated to 275 DR; however, it did not yet utilize fully movable type. Rather, the Umidic printing press served as a way to quickly cycle through Scenfai-style tablets and imprint many of them on a scroll. The Umidic printing press did have a small degree of spread in Pertusia, but due to its limitations, it was mostly only used for the copying of Furnician religious texts. However, the printing press was adapted into its more successful form by the Cornic scribe Nanam Gu'Calblach, who devised a printing press using separate "spaces" for each character; this was originally intended for accounting, so he could easily fill in inventories and tax forms. The first attested Nanamite printing press dates to 287 DR; seen as a more efficient version of the Umidic press, the Nanamite press was quick to spread across Pertusia. Intercontinental spread (4th century DR) The first printing presses were used in Qantia in 292 DR; from there, they were discovered by Emir Hasib III of Quasro during a 295 visit to the Pertusian mainland. Hasib commissioned a printing press for Quasro, and the completed press arrived on Quasro the following spring. After the success of that venture, Qantial emir Shihab VII brokered a deal with Chancellor Dragan Zrandos of Robaria to sell printing presses in Alarea; this was a slower process, as Zrandos wanted to have multiple printing presses, and a set of type pieces had to be cast with Alarean lettering. In 297, the first Alarean printing press was publicly installed in a store in Sadveria; this immediately drew the attention of the other Alarean states, and so Zrandos sold printing presses to Dorio and Daravia. The relations between the two empires were strained at the time, leading the emperors of each nation to seek to dominate the other in printing. At the beginning of the fourth century, there was an effort by Gentori rulers to restrict printing press sales in Kussia, with the intent of establishing Gentori dominance of the Kussian printing market. However, this attracted the attention of Subhash V of Srevelle, who subverted Gentor and began importing printing presses into Srevelle in 318. The spread of the printing press through Kussia would continue to be slow, but by the end of the fourth century, it was nevertheless widespread as far north as Yeol. Category:History